From 11:00am on April 23rd until 7:00pm on April 24th, Openhouse (168 Bowery by Kenmare St.) in Manhattan‘s Lower East Side near Chinatown offers one of its spaces to The Big Cheesy 2016, a championship event summoning all those gluten– and dairy-starved Völker – myself included – to an hour of grilled cheese and local cerveza.

Among this year’s participants are the fromagerie Artisanal – last year’s winner, the sandwich store The Wheelhouse, two Brooklyn-based grocers, Campbell Cheese & Grocery and Depanneur, and salumeria Ends Meat.